Taipei book fair moves online over Covid fears

台北書展因擔憂冠狀病毒改採線上

Cancellation of event in Taipei follows coronavirus hospital cluster


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE) has become the latest victim of an expanding domestic hospital coronavirus (COVID-19) cluster, as the authorities decided Wednesday (Jan. 20) to move it online.

The annual fair, which had been scheduled for Jan. 26-31, is one of the major events on Taiwan’s cultural and literary calendar, attracting thousands of readers and book lovers while featuring guest speakers, authors, and publishers from around the world. South Korea had been selected as the guest of honor for the 29th edition.

However, it was precisely its reputation for crowds that caused the Ministry of Culture to decide against holding the event at the Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC), CNA reported.

The confirmation of 10 domestic transmissions of the coronavirus centered on a hospital in Taoyuan City has led the government to ask for mass events to be canceled or postponed.

The Taipei Book Fair Foundation initially still wanted to go ahead with the expo, as it argued it had taken the necessary precautions, according to CNA. Being the only country to host a book fair would again offer proof of Taiwan’s successes in the fight against the pandemic, the organizer said.

However, the Ministry of Culture reasoned that it would still be difficult to control the amounts and movements of visitors, and therefore decided that the event at the TWTC should not go ahead.

As was the case last year, an online version of the fair would still be possible, including the planned roundtable discussions between representatives of the publishing sector, the ministry said.

Measures to compensate members of the public and publishers who already paid for tickets or other fees will be worked out within three days.

On Tuesday (Jan. 19), Taiwan also announced the cancellation of the annual national Lantern Festival, which would have been hosted by Hsinchu City from Feb. 26 to March 7. Some other local lantern shows were also canceled, though some county and city governments still chose to go ahead with the events while emphasizing social distancing measures.